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Arbitration

Petr Mrazek Signs Two-Year Deal

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Just before his arbitration hearing took place Wednesday, Petr Mrazek and the Detroit Red Wings have come to a two-year agreement worth a total of $8MM.  Elliotte Friedman tells us that the goaltender will earn $3.85MM in the first season, and $4.15MM in the second.

On Monday we profiled Mrazek’s arbitration case, projecting a two-year contract with an AAV of $4.125MM. This deal obviously comes in just below that, and looks like a win for the Red Wings, who still have to deal with the large contract that Jimmy Howard is still owed. Howard will earn $5.29MM for the next three years, making him an extremely expensive backup if Mrazek has truly taken over in net.

Again, player and team came to an agreement just before the deadline, as it seems no one truly wants to go to arbitration this summer. It can be a somewhat ugly experience for players, as the team needs to point out their flaws in order to get a lower price.

Mrazek will still be a restricted free agent when the deal expires, and at only 26 would be ready to earn top money.  Look for the Red Wings to deal Howard and try to work towards a long-term extension with the Czech goaltender next summer.

Ottawa Signs Mike Hoffman To Four-Year Deal

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After a long negotiation, the Ottawa Senators have come to an agreement with restricted free agent Mike Hoffman on a four-year deal worth $5.188MM per season. Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the deal, and also gave us the financial breakdown; Hoffman will earn $3.8MM next season, and $5.65MM for the three following years.

Hoffman was set to go to arbitration on August 4th, his second time through the process. Last summer, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement before the hearing, which resulted in a $2MM decision from the arbitrator. This will obviously be a substantial raise for the 26-year old, one he has clearly earned.

2014-15 was the first full NHL season for Hoffman, and he responded in kind, with 27 goals and 48 points, helping the Senators to an unexpected playoff berth. Last year, arbitration seemed to light an even bigger fire under him, as he improved in almost every category.  29 goals and 59 points this time for Hoffman, and he’d established himself as a top-flight scoring forward deserved of a long-term deal.

If his development continues, it won’t be surprising to see Hoffman break the 30-goal plateau this season.  His new deal is strikingly similar to the one another young RFA signed recently, when Brayden Schenn took four-years and $20.5MM from the Flyers, just $250K less than Hoffman’s deal. Schenn actually has a longer track record, is almost two years younger and is coming off a higher salary last season, making his deal look even more impressive for Philadelphia, but Hoffman’s goal totals give him the edge going forward.

The Senators now find themselves down to just a single unsigned RFA in Cody Ceci, with plenty of room left under the cap (the team operates on an internal budget, and will not hit the cap ceiling). After dealing for Dion Phaneuf last season, and sending Mika Zibanejad to New York for Derick Brassard, it looks as though the Senators are trying extremely hard to make the playoffs again next year, and owner Eugene Melnyk said as much just a few months ago.

If they get off to a rough start in 2016-17, it could be a fire-sale in Ottawa, as the front office has been very critical of the players on the ice. With an all-world player in Erik Karlsson entering his prime (as if he wasn’t in it already), the team needs to focus on the next few years.

Predators Avoid Arbitration With Petter Granberg

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According to Tim Wharnsby of CBC, the Nashville Predators have signed Petter Granberg to a two-year, two-way deal worth a total of $1.225MM. Granberg was set to go to an arbitration hearing on August 3rd, but will avoid the process now that he’s under contract.

Granberg, 23, was claimed by the Predators off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season after rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon suffered in training camp.  He played 27 games for the Predators last season, providing solid depth to an already incredibly talented blueline. Selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, Granberg is known for a stay-at-home defensive game that isn’t overly physical.

For the Predators, they’ll hope they can turn Granberg into a sound positional defenseman capable of logging some minutes on the bottom pairing, and perhaps some time on the penalty kill. He’ll go to camp battling fellow right-handed defenseman and recent signee Yannick Weber for a spot with the Preds to start the season.

(Current Predators Roster via Roster Resource)

Philadelphia Re-Signs Brandon Manning

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According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Philadelphia Flyers have reached an agreement with their final arbitration-eligible player Brandon Manning on a two-year, $1.95MM deal. Tim Wharnsby of CBC breaks it down: 2016-17 $950K, 2017-18 $1MM.

After the Flyers got Brayden Schenn to sign a long-term deal, Manning was next on the docket and was headed to an arbitration hearing on August 2nd.

Manning made an impact on the Flyers lineup this season, getting into 56 games at the NHL level.  The 26-year old scored seven points and logged over 16 minutes a night in his first lengthy chance with the big club.

He’ll now head to camp looking to secure a bottom-pairing job and show that he’s advanced past the AHL level – where he has been spectacular, scoring 43 points in 60 games in 2014-15.

As with the Rangers, the Flyers will now receive a 48-hour buyout window after re-signing multiple arbitration cases. The team has under $500K left under the cap, but no one left to re-sign.

Danny DeKeyser Inks Six-Year Extension

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According to multiple reports, including James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail, the Detroit Red Wings have signed Danny DeKeyser to a six-year, $30MM extension ahead of his arbitration hearing set for Thursday. The young defenseman is thought of as an integral part of the Red Wings’ core, and will now be paid like one.

DeKeyser, 26, has been a regular on the Wings’ blueline for three seasons now, playing over twenty minutes a night and contributing at least 20 points each year. His best came in 2014-15, when he put up 31 points and had his best possession metrics of his career.

The Michigan native went undrafted before attending Western Michigan University, where he excelled over three seasons. Upon his exit from the NCAA, DeKeyser had many suitors, seen as a strong two-way option that could step into an NHL lineup immediately.  He proved that true when he signed with the Red Wings, getting into 11 games down the stretch in 2012-13.

While DeKeyser doesn’t get much love from the analytic community because of his relatively poor possession numbers, he does get continually praised from his coaching staff and front office, with former Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock referring to him as a “human eraser” and saying he’s an elite skater with an elite hockey mind.

Detroit now has six defensemen under contract for a total of $24.2MM next season. While they project to currently be over the salary cap, CapFriendly points out that the team still has the ability to sign Petr Mrazek because of the 10% overage a team can use before the end of training camp.  With the team set to take him to arbitration on Wednesday, they’ll try to get a contract on the books before any blood is spilled in the arbitration room.

(Detroit Red Wings Depth Charts via Roster Resource)

Arbitration Breakdown: Petr Mrazek

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The Red Wings and goaltender Petr Mrazek have exchanged their arbitration numbers in advance of Wednesday’s scheduled hearing and suffice it to say, there is quite a gap between the two sides.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Detroit has submitted a two year offer worth $2.7MM in year one and $3.15MM in year two.  Meanwhile, Mrazek has countered with a two year pact worth $5MM in both seasons.

[For more background on the arbitration process, consult Parts One and Two of our Capology 101: Arbitration series.]

Last season was a career year for the 24 year old Mrazek.  He became Detroit’s starting goalie for most of the year, playing in 54 games.  He compiled a 27-16-6 record with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 SV% with four shutouts.  Mrazek ranked in the top half league-wide in terms of wins (T-13th), GAA (13th), and SV% (T-10th) among goalies that played at least 30 games which filters out most backup netminders.

Mrazek doesn’t have a whole lot of NHL experience under his belt in his career though as he has just a total of 94 career appearances.  That makes this a particularly intriguing case as Mrazek is looking to earn starters money while being a #1 for basically just one full season.  It also has a lot to do with the sizable gap in the two offers.

While it has no bearing on the arbitration case itself, it’s worth noting that the Red Wings have Jimmy Howard under contract for three more years at a cap hit just shy of $5.3MM.  Their willingness or lack thereof to have both goalies on big money, multi-year deals could very likely impact contract negotiations.

Of the players in this process, Mrazek was the only player to not file for arbitration.  Instead, Detroit opted to take him to arbitration.  Players can only be subject to club-elected arbitration once in their careers so the Wings cannot pursue this route again in future offseasons.

Mrazek’s Stats

2015-16: 54 GP, 27-16-6 record, 2.33 GAA, .921 SV%, 4 shutouts
Career:  94 GP, 49-27-6 record, 2.29 GAA, .920 SV%, 9 shutouts

Potential Comparables

Jake Allen (St. Louis) – Four years, $17.4MM ($4.35MM AAV) – commencing in 2017-18

2015-16: 47 GP, 26-15-3 record, 2.35 GAA, .920 SV%, 6 shutouts
Career:  99 GP, 57-26-7 record, 2.34 GAA, .915 SV%, 11 shutouts

Frederik Andersen (Toronto) – Five years, $25MM ($5MM AAV) – commencing in 2016-17

2015-16: 43 GP, 22-9-7 record, 2.30 GAA, .919 SV%, 3 shutouts
Career:  125 GP, 77-26-12 record, 2.33 GAA, .918 SV%, 6 shutouts

Corey Crawford (Chicago) – Three years, $8MM ($2.67MM AAV) – from 2011-12 to 2013-14

2010-11: 57 GP, 33-18-6 record, 2.30 GAA, .917 SV%, 3 shutouts
Career as of ‘10-‘11:  65 GP, 34-21-7 record, 2.33 GAA, .917 SV%, 5 shutouts

(The salary cap is $9.7MM higher now than it was at the time the deal was signed.  In 2011, Crawford’s deal was 4.5% of the cap.  4.5% of the current salary cap is roughly $3.3MM.)

Devan Dubnyk (Edmonton) – Two years, $7MM ($3.5MM AAV) – from 2012-13 to 2013-14

2011-12: 47 GP, 20-20-3 record, 2.67 GAA, .914 SV%, 2 shutouts
Career as of ‘11-‘12:  101 GP, 36-43-13 record, 2.85 GAA, .910 SV%, 4 shutouts

(The salary cap is $13MM higher now than it was at the time the deal was signed.  In 2012, Dubnyk’s deal was 5.8% of the cap.  5.8% of the current salary cap is roughly $4.25MM.)

Jaroslav Halak (St. Louis) – Four years, $15MM ($4.25MM AAV) – from 2010-11 to 2013-14

2009-10: 45 GP, 26-13-5 record, 2.40 GAA, .924 SV%, 5 shutouts
Career as of ‘09-‘10:  101 GP, 56-34-7 record, 2.61 GAA, .919 SV%, 9 shutouts

(The salary cap is $13.6MM higher now than it was when the deal was signed.  In 2010, Halak’s deal was 6.3% of the cap.  6.3% of the current salary cap is roughly $4.6MM.)

The above players are at least somewhat comparable both in terms of their platform (most recent) season as well as their career numbers.  One other short-term contract comparable doesn’t have the ideal platform year to compare to but the career numbers are quite similar.

Tuukka Rask (Boston) – One year, $3.5MM – for the 2012-13 season

2011-12: 23 GP, 11-8-3 record, 2.05 GAA, .929 SV%, 3 shutouts
Career as of 2011-12:  102 GP, 47-35-11 record, 2.20 GAA, .917 SV%, 11 shutouts

(The salary cap is $13MM higher now than it was at the time the deal was signed.  In 2012, Rask’s deal was 5.8% of the cap.  5.8% of the current salary cap is roughly $4.25MM.)

Projection

The submissions show the difference in where each side feels Mrazek is.  Detroit appears to want Mrazek to take more of a ‘prove it’ contract at a rate closer to that of a platoon goalie.  Meanwhile, Mrazek and his reps feel that after a couple of years of above average goaltending (one as a starter, the other as more of a backup) that he’s worthy of the bigger ticket contract.

The comparables seem to favor Mrazek here.  Goalies with basically one year as a starter and roughly 100 games of career NHL experience are getting sizable contracts in their post-bridge deals so it’s conceivable that Mrazek will get one here too.  It’s going to be a two year contract at Mrazek’s request (since it was club-elected arbitration) and we project he’ll receive a deal that will line up with many of the comparables here.  We project a contract where he’ll earn $4MM in year one and $4.25MM in year two for a cap hit of $4.125MM.

Wild Sign RFA Jordan Schroeder

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July 25: The Wild have officially announced the signing.  Schroeder will make $650K in the NHL ($25K less than originally reported) and $275K in the AHL.

July 23: The Minnesota Wild have reportedly signed RFA Jordan Schroeder to a one-year, two-way deal, according to CBC’s Tim Wharnsby. Schroeder will get $675K at the NHL level, $275K in the AHL, and $300K in guaranteed salary.  Schroeder and the Wild were set to go to salary arbitration on July 27th.

Schroeder has yet to produce at the NHL level, amassing only 11G and 16A in 107 games with the Vancouver Canucks and the Wild. The homegrown forward has, however, put up decent production in the AHL. Last season Schroeder put up 14G and 20A in 40 Games with the Iowa Wild, Minnesota’s AHL Affiliate.

The core of the dispute between parties centered around whether Schroeder deserves a one-way contract. A one-way contract ensures that Schroeder receives full NHL pay if he is sent down to the minors, whereas a two-way contract significantly decreases his pay if the Wild demote him.

The Wild put Schroeder on waivers last week as a bargaining tool to show both a future arbitrator and Schroeder’s camp how much the forward is worth on the open market. Any team could claim Schroeder for a $15,000 waiver fee, and if he goes unclaimed—the fourth time in one year—it significantly weakens Schroeder’s position that he deserves a one-way contract. And as Michael Russo points out, the Wild did this in 2008 with RFA Stephane Veilleux. The Wild may have started a trend as the Maple Leafs waived Peter Holland yesterday in an attempt to achieve a similar result.

Week In Review: 7/18/16 – 7/24/16

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With the excitement of free agency mostly over, NHL teams are now taking care of housekeeping items like avoiding arbitration hearings with their remaining RFAs. Here’s a look back at the week that was.

Trades

July 18 – New York Rangers acquire C Mika Zibanejad and a 2018 2nd round pick from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for C Derick Brassard and a 2018 7th round pick.

Notable Signings

Marcus Johansson (Capitals) – avoided arbitration with a three-year, $13.75MM contract.
Mikhail Grigorenko (Avalanche) – the RFA forward signed a one-year contract worth $1.3MM before his arbitration hearing.
Chris Kreider (Rangers) – agreed to a four-year, $18.5MM contract, avoiding arbitration.
Kevin Hayes (Rangers) – avoided arbitration by signing a two-year contract worth $5.2MM.
Connor Carrick (Maple Leafs) – unlike many of the weeks signings, Carrick was not eligible for arbitration. He signed a two-year, $1.5MM contract.
Luke Schenn (Coyotes) – signed a two-year, $2.5MM contract in Arizona after splitting last season between the Flyers and Kings. Schenn was ranked 30th on our Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents List.

Waivers

Jordan Schroeder (Wild) – cleared waivers, then settled on a new one-year, $650K contract prior to his arbitration hearing.
Peter Holland (Maple Leafs) – Holland is not expected to be back with the Maple Leafs next season after clearing waivers ahead of his upcoming arbitration hearing.

Notable Prospect Signings

Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs) – three-year entry-level deal
Jack Roslovic (Jets) – three-year entry-level deal

Retirements

Brad Richards (Red Wings) – The veteran center announced his retirement on July 20. Richards scored 932 points in 1126 NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Richards won two Stanley Cups: 2004 with the Lightning and 2015 with the Blackhawks. Richards was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2004.

Sunday Snapshots: KHL, Corrado, Schenn

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The KHL’s Chinese expansion team, Kunlun Red Star, has signed three former NHLers prior to their first exhibition game, according to KHL insider Aivis Kalnins.

Sean Collins, a 27-year-old center from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, spent last season with the Washington Capitals’ AHL affiliate in Hershey and appeared in two NHL games with the Capitals; winger Alexandre Picard, a former 8th overall pick by Columbus in 2004, played 67 games with the Blue Jackets over parts of five seasons before spending the last four seasons in Switzerland; former Hurricanes defenseman Brett Bellemore also signed with Red Star after spending last season with Providence of the AHL.

Kunlun played its first exhibition game on Sunday morning versus Traktor Chelyabinsk in Finland.

More snapshots from around the hockey world:

  • The Maple Leafs and their RFA defenseman Frankie Corrado have filed briefs ahead of their upcoming arbitration case. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the team’s offers are worth $625K/ $125K on a two-way contract or $575K for a one-way contract. Corrado’s asking price is $900K.
  • Newly-signed Coyotes defenseman Luke Schenn told the team’s website that he’s looking forward to being able to grow as a player in a market without as much added pressure as he’s previously experienced. Schenn has played most of his career in major hockey markets Toronto, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.

Peter Holland Clears Waivers

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Restricted Free Agent Peter Holland cleared waivers this afternoon with no team claiming the arbitration-pending centerman. Holland elected salary arbitration this summer and is set for a hearing on Monday July 25th.

The two sides are $1.2MM apart. The Leafs are offering $900K and Holland wants $2.1MM. Toronto waived Holland yesterday in what is thought of as an attempt to prove his low worth around the league. The thinking goes that if no team is willing to claim Holland for a mere $15,000 waiver fee, he is not worth the price asked by his camp. The Minnesota Wild did the same this summer with RFA Jordan Schroeder before signing him to a one-year, two-way deal today worth $675K / $275K.

The flipside to that argument, however, is that no team wants to claim a player on the brink of a salary arbitration hearing. It is unclear if arbitration deadlines remain final in the wake of a waiver claim. The CBA does allow for postponing an arbitration hearing upon good cause (See CBA, Art. 12.9(m)), but it is unclear what constitutes good cause. If the deadlines remain fixed, the claiming team would have to submit an arbitration brief at the last second. The hassle alone may deter teams.

 

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